What Marketers Should Know About The Growing “Moms As Breadwinners” Trend And How It’s Changing The Way Women Shop, Manage Their Time, And Define Success.

Ketchum’s recent Marketing to Moms global study — which premiered on the M2Moms® 2014 stage — reveals disconnects between moms’ significant earning power and other important parts of their lives. Learn more on Tuesday, December 16, as Kelley Skoloda, Ketchum partner and director, Global Brand Marketing practice, and Elisa Camahort-Page, co-founder and COO, BlogHer, discuss the radical shift in women’s attitudes and purchase behaviors and how they differ across the globe.

You’ll learn:
– The four S’s of reaching today’s Breadwinning “PheMOM”
– How women define personal success and what makes them feel in control of their destiny
– Unexpected similarities and differences among women in the U.S., the U.K., China and Germany
– The surprising new luxury item for time-starved moms
– Why moms often make the smartest consumer and who they trust online

To reserve your webinar seat, RSVP to invite@ketchum.com by Monday, December 15.
Can’t attend but want to know more? Please email invite@ketchum.com and put “Send Report” in the subject line.

Jenny Rosenstrach, creator of the blog Dinner: A Love Story and author of the soon to be released book Dinner: The Playbook (August 26, 2014, Random House will show marketers at the 10th Anniversary M2Moms® how moms can take the stress out of family meals. According to Liz Fongemie, M2Moms® producer, “Jenny’s luncheon keynote will give marketers real life insights into some of the many demands on today’s moms. It’s information that contributes to improved brand communications and business results with this powerful consumer segment.” M2Moms® – The Marketing to Moms Conference, October 22 & 23, 2014, Chicago Cultural Center, is a professional learning event that teaches brand marketers how to increase their share of moms purchasing.

Rosenstrach, currently featured in the New York Times weekly parenting column, Motherlode, is co-author with her husband Andy Ward of Bon Appetit’s monthly column The Providers. Fongemie added, “Lifestyle insight is very important to every consumer marketer. Understanding consumers’ motivations and their environment is critical to all brand messaging. Jenny is a food expert, a columnist, an author, and a mom herself. She is personally and professionally passionate about this topic of family mealtime. Her keynote is exactly the kind of info that marketing execs expect when they attend M2Moms®. ”

“With a spending power of $2.4 trillion annually in the U.S. alone, moms really are brand-critical decision makers for a broad range of products and services,” said Fongemie. “The Fast Facts page on M2Moms® website is filled with statistics showing that moms buy everything from sports drinks to prom dresses, diapers to dog food, lipstick to laptops, autos to pharmaceuticals. They use every channel, every possible screen, traditional & new media, they use it all.”

Since the summer of 2012, past M2Moms® Sponsor Quester® has been having an on-going dialog – not surveys — with 500 moms. The result is MomQuest™, which features monthly syndicated reports of what’s on moms’ minds: family, shopping, new brands, dining out, social media. Hot topics from 2013 — including Moms and Me-Time, The Role of Technology in Their Children’s Lives, and Online Shopping — are available through a monthly newsletter or by downloading a full report.

On behalf of Hain Celestial’s Earth’s Best brand, Jill Risucci, Senior Brand Manager, received the “Full Circle Award” at the 9th Annual M2Moms® – The Marketing to Moms Conference, Oct. 23-24, 2013, Chicago. The award was presented to Hain Celestial by David Iudicia, Director of Strategic Research & Insights at Yahoo! “Now in its fifth year, the Full Circle Award is given to a company that takes what they learned at M2Moms® and applies it in their business to improve their sales and marketing results with today’s moms,” according to Liz Fongemie, M2Moms® producer.

Nan McCann, Producer of M2Moms® and David Iudicia of Yahoo!
present the Full Circle Award to Jill Risucci of The Hain Celestial Group
at the 9th Annual M2Moms® Conference on October 24, 2013, Chicago.

“The Hain Celestial Group’s Earth’s Best brand team has been attending M2Moms® since 2008,” Fongemie explained. “After attending last year’s conference they took what they learned and repositioned the Earth’s Best brand, complete with a new logo and packaging for a campaign that’s set to debut next summer. They were particularly inspired by Yahoo! Starcom’s Brave New Moms 2012 presentation which is why David Iudicia was chosen to give the presentation. David was responsible for the digital insights that underscored the changes.”

“We started this award tradition in 2007 when we began hearing stories about brands that attended M2Moms® and then used what they learned to either launch something new, to improve a product or service, or change the way they market to moms,” Fongemie added. “Past winners include Ontario Egg Farmers, ConAgra Foods, KinderCone and HABA Toys.”

“M2Moms® is dedicated to helping marketers improve their marketing efforts to today’s ever-evolving moms. Mom is the modern family’s most important decision maker in virtually every consumer industry and product category. It is precisely because of moms’ purchasing power that M2Moms® draws attendance from a truly diverse and comprehensive list of brands,” Fongemie continued, “including Microsoft, Kellogg’s, Evenflo, IKEA, Mead Johnson, GM, Allstate, Heinz, Symantec, Hasbro, BBC, NBA, Procter & Gamble, Wyeth and Coca-Cola. They all recognize that marketing to moms is critical to continued brand growth and market share.”

“We’ll show marketers how to reach and why to target moms of special needs,” Cole explained. “Like other moms, moms of children with special needs still have to buy groceries, clothes, back to school items, birthday gifts for school friends, plus what they need for themselves, their spouse, the home and possibly their aging parents.”

“So the question is does the mom of a special needs child have special needs of her own?” Cole asked. “When it comes to how she is marketed to and how she is treated at the point of sale, we think the answer is yes, she does. After all, it is said that the largest minority in North America isn’t one of nationality but of circumstance: people with special needs. Moms of special needs children are a huge and often overlooked opportunity for moms marketers.”

“This is the second or third time we’ve addressed this topic in the last nine years of M2Moms®. Every time we do the topic is one of the highest rated sessions. Given the size of the market that’s not surprising. I’m sure it will once again be one of the most compelling sessions at this year’s conference,” said to Liz Fongemie, M2Moms® producer,

“It is precisely because of the incredible diversity of moms and their broad purchasing power that M2Moms® draws attendance from a truly diverse and comprehensive list of brands,” Fongemie explained. “Companies that have sent executives and marketing teams include Microsoft, Kellogg’s, Evenflo, IKEA, Mead Johnson, GM, Allstate, Heinz, Symantec, Hasbro, BBC, NBA, Procter & Gamble, Wyeth, Coca-Cola and hundreds more.

“They all recognize that marketing to moms is critical to continued brand growth and market share,” according to Fongemie. “Moms really are brand-critical decision makers for a broad range of products and services. The Fast Facts page on M2Moms® website is filled with statistics that show that moms buy everything from sports drinks to prom dresses, diapers to dog food, lipstick to laptops, autos to pharmaceuticals. They buy for their kids, their families, their parents, their friends and for themselves. They buy for their homes, for their kids’ schools, and they plan and pay for the family vacation. Plus, they purchase on every available channel online and off, traditional and new media – they use it all.”

“With new research, case studies, workshops, peer-to-peer learning and networking, M2Moms® delivers everything every marketer needs to reach mom on the wide variety of channels moms use to gather and pass along information and purchase,” according to Fongemie. “This year M2Moms® includes over 30 speakers and two and half content-rich days all designed to help marketers improve their marketing and sales to today’s moms.”

“We have substantially expanded the pre-conference sessions for those who arrive early,” Fongemie added. “PTPA, Blissful Media, Text4baby and the Sway Group’s workshops will focus on reaching moms through digital, social and mobile media. In the past all of our pre-con sessions have been standing room only.”

“In addition to the pre-con sessions, we’re especially excited about this year’s lineup which features the premiere of GfK’s “Moms Research Report”, WebMD’s insight into what today’s moms are looking for in health, and an especially intriguing case study from Ketchum about the power of storytelling for challenger brands. We’ll also have new research about the life stages of motherhood presented by Sandy Wax, President and G.M. of Sprout, and a marketing to new moms session from Eric Mower+Associates,” Fongemie said. “Plus, the editorial team from The Bump will show marketers what really works to reach today’s moms. House Party will present a compelling brand advocate case study with Hasbro. In addition, we’ve got a great case study from Mattel, and we’re very happy to welcome back Destination Maternity’s Zanny Oltman, 2012’s “You Take The Cake” Best Speaker, to rock the house again!”

“Today lots of brands are faced with bigger ambitions than budgets. Most brands want more impactful, efficient ways to connect than traditional marketing allows. Our session on ‘Speak Challenger’ methodology will show the brand marketing execs at M2Moms® how to thrive in today’s challenging marketplace in spite of tight budgets,” according to Kelley Skoloda, Partner/Director, Global Brand Marketing Practice, Ketchum. The 9th annual M2Moms® – Marketing to Moms Conference, will be held October 23 & 24 in the Chicago Cultural Center www.m2moms.com

“Brand stories are key to ‘Speak Challenger’, which is a powerful methodology grounded in brain science,” Skoloda explained. “Stories harness a brand’s most powerful source of industry leverage: emotional influence. For example, forty years ago, rental car company Avis challenged Hertz – the industry brand leader – and won a larger share of the market by engaging people’s emotions with the story of “trying harder.” The leaders in any market are never invulnerable; they just seem that way before a smart, story-driven challenger brand takes them on.”

“Speak Challenger,” Skoloda continued, “is designed to position brands for game-changing industry leadership. It introduces challenger thinking and story strategy into marketing consciousness to help brand teams understand the brand’s true opportunity and prepare for excellence. No one would argue that we live in challenging times. To survive, consumers, influencers and media have changed their mindset and behavior. They are more nimble, do more with less, act in real-time and challenge the status quo. Some brands have changed in recent times, but not enough to reflect this ‘challenger’ reality, especially older and established brands.”

Skoloda, who is also the author of the benchmark marketing to female consumers book, Too Busy to Shop, will be accompanied in her presentation by Pierre Schaeffer, challenger brand expert and former global CMO at Kodak and Lisa Johnson, story strategist and co-author of Story Juice: How Ideas Spread and Brands Grow.

“I know every brand marketer in the audience will be on the edge of their seat for Kelley’s session,” stated Liz Fongemie, M2Moms® producer. “In today’s environment the right creative/strategic approach is critical to every marketing campaign regardless of the size of the budget. Speak Challenger gives brands a proven method to break through the clutter and reach today’s moms, which is especially important when you consider that mom is the modern family’s most important decision maker in virtually every consumer industry and product category.”

“Moms really are brand-critical decision makers for a broad range of products and services,” Fongemie said. “The Fast Facts page on M2Moms® website is filled with statistics that show that moms buy everything from sports drinks to prom dresses, diapers to dog food, lipstick to laptops, autos to pharmaceuticals. They buy for their kids, their families, their parents, their friends and for themselves. They buy for their homes for their kids’ schools and they plan and pay for the family vacation. Plus, they purchase on every available channel online and off, traditional and new media, they use it all.”

“It is precisely because of moms’ broad purchasing power that M2Moms® draws attendance from a truly diverse and comprehensive list of brands,” Fongemie explained. “Companies that have sent executives and marketing teams include Microsoft, Kellogg’s, Evenflo, IKEA, Mead Johnson, GM, Allstate, Heinz, Symantec, Hasbro, BBC, NBA, Procter & Gamble, Wyeth, Coca-Cola and hundreds more. They all recognize that marketing to moms is critical to continued brand growth and market share.”

“New research, case studies, workshops, peer-to-peer learning and networking, M2Moms® really delivers everything every marketer needs to reach moms on all the different channels moms use to gather and pass along information and purchase,” according to Fongemie. “This year M2Moms® includes over 30 speakers and two and half content-rich days all designed to help marketers improve their marketing and sales to today’s’ moms.”

“In addition to Kelley’s session, we’re especially excited about this year’s lineup which already features the premiere of GfK’s Moms Research Report, WebMD’s insight into what today’s moms are looking for in health, new research presented by Sandy Wax, President and G.M. of Sprout, and a marketing to new moms session from Eric Mower+Associates,” Fongemie said. “Plus, the editorial team from The Bump will show marketers what really works to reach today’s moms. House Party will present an especially compelling brand advocate case study with Hasbro. In addition, we’ve got a great CMO brand panel, and a truly one-of-a-kind session from Mabel’s Labels on marketing to moms of kids with special needs from Mabel’s Labels.”

“We’re also expanding the pre-conference sessions for those who arrive early,” Fongemie added. “They’ll focus on reaching moms through digital, social and mobile media. And we’re very happy to welcome back Destination Maternity’s Zanny Oltman, 2012’s “You Take The Cake” Best Speaker to rock the house again!”

First Time Moms Change Shopping Habits

“A woman becomes a new mom just once in her lifetime. From the moment she finds out she is pregnant to the joy of her new arrival, her feelings and thoughts about brands and products and how she actually shops all changes,” according to Sandy Gingerich, Senior Partner at Eric Mower + Associates. Using shopper insights and proprietary research gathered from EMA’s New Moms team, Gingerich will share with marketers how to better connect with new moms during a special workshop at the 8th Annual M2Moms® — The Marketing to Moms Conference, Oct. 22-24 in Chicago, IL.

Gingerich explains the workshop, dubbed ”Shopper “Mom” Marketing: 9 months to connect your brand to her new reality!”is an exploration of the new mom mindset in the midst of her new reality. “Until her new baby is in her arms, she doesn’t fully understand how her trust in brands and her shopping habits have and will continue to change. She has new needs in categories she’s never considered before, a new commitment to putting her baby first and ultimately, new worries about making the right decisions for her and her family.”

“Given the fact that 42 percent of all births are to first time moms, I’m sure this presentation will have every marketer’s attention,” said Liz Fongemie, M2Moms® Director. “For brands, first time moms are a huge opportunity to build trust and long lasting relationships, which is critically important considering mom is the modern family’s most important decision maker in virtually every consumer industry and product category.”

“It is precisely because of moms’ purchasing power that M2Moms® draws attendance from a truly diverse and comprehensive list of brands including Microsoft, Kellogg’s, Evenflo, IKEA, Mead Johnson, GM, Allstate, Heinz, Symantec, Hasbro, BBC, NBA, Procter & Gamble, Wyeth and Coca-Cola. They all recognize that marketing to moms is critical to continued brand growth and market share.”

A new study, set to be released at the 8th Annual M2Moms® – The Marketing to Moms Conference October 22-24 at the Chicago Cultural Center, reveals why and how moms make recommendations, and compares the frequency and trustworthiness of recommendations made in-person to those made online. The Mom Next Door: Why and How Moms Make Recommendations, a new, collaborative research initiative of The 360PR MomSquad® and Mom It Forward, brings to light the true power of ‘the mom next door’ and how brands can engage her.

“The power of word-of-mom is well understood by brands today, but there’s much to learn about the recommender-mom, how and why she makes recommendations, and how those recommendations are received,” explained 360PR CEO Laura Tomasetti, who, with Mom It Forward CEO Jyl Johnson Pattee, will discuss findings of The Mom Next Door study and how brands can more effectively fuel mom recommendations.

Research by 360PR and Mom It Forward includes interviews with more than 1,000 moms. A series of live events helped mirror the real conversations that moms have about brands every day. The Mom Next Door workshop at M2Moms® will give brands a close-up view of the recommender-mom and how she shares online and off – the later often forgotten in this social media age, but, as the study found, more relevant than ever.

“I’m sure Laura and Jyl’s session will be a real hit with the all brands in the audience,” according to Liz Fongemie, M2Moms® Director. “The brands are always looking for new channels to influence moms purchasing. They attend because they know that keeping up with today’s moms is critical to building and maintaining market share in virtually every industry and product category.”

According to Renee Weber, PhD, VP, Planning. & Research, who will be presenting the findings with Rob Pieper Sr. VP, Planning & Strategy, both of The Marketing Store Worldwide, “the research focuses on what kids value most, what drives their happiness, their aspirations and outlook, how technology is woven into their day, their favorite activities and interests – and with whom they prefer to do them.”

“The study also reflects”, Weber explained, “how influential children are in moms purchasing decisions globally, how marketing to kids is perceived by moms and kids alike across a wide variety of cultures, and the implications of these findings on brands. The study spanned twelve countries and included over 4000 children aged 6 – 12 years.”

“Understanding kids’ perceptions and motivations in a marketing context will be such a valuable session for all the brand marketers in the audience. Especially how kids are influencers of moms’ purchasing, not just here in the U.S. but worldwide. This is such current and valuable data,” according to Liz Fongemie, M2Moms® Director.

“Because understanding moms and all of their true purchasing motivations – including moms’ views on marketing to their kids – is critical insight. It will help brands at M2Moms® build better and more enduring business connections with today’s moms,” Fongemie said.

The majority of American moms (61%) feel more independent today than they did five years ago. They report the greatest strides in career advancement (67%), education (58%) and politics (45%). But when it comes to health, less than a third of moms (28%) believe women have made the greatest strides in health. In fact, one in three moms (39%) believes society values men’s health more than women’s health, according to a new survey of 2,500 Americans.

The survey found that when money is tight, one in three moms (35.3%) have paid for others’ drug prescriptions instead of their own. A majority of moms agree that their families rely on them to be in charge of health-related decisions (90%) and fear that if they become sick, their family will have difficulty managing everyday activities (84%). Nine in 10 moms (90%) say they put their family’s health needs ahead of their own.

“Especially in light of health reform which is seeking behavior modification and prevention to reduce pressure on the healthcare system, moms as the chief medical officer in the home are critically important,” said Monique da Silva, Head of North America Healthcare for Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and a working mother of three. “It is critical that we truly understand and uncover the key pressure points that will get women to stop, consider and act on health information for their families and for themselves.”

*About the Survey: For this study, moms and dads are defined as parents with children <18 living in the household. Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide developed the study with the objective of understanding Americans’ perspectives on women’s independence, specifically related to healthcare. TNS Global conducted the online survey among a nationally representative sample of 2,500 Americans ages 18 and over. The survey was fielded June 21 to June 22, 2011, and has a margin of error of +/-2.0% at the 95% confidence level.